Assessing Food Safety and Persistence of Enteric Pathogens on Fresh Produce Ingredients Destined for Uncooked Sauces/Salsa

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Foodborne illness outbreaks associated with raw produce have a significant impact on public health in the U.S. Leafy greens, tomatoes, cantaloupe, herbs (basil, parsley, and cilantro), and green onions have been responsible for as much as 75 percent of produce-related outbreaks in the U.S. in recent years. Herbs such as basil, parsley, cilantro and green onions are used as ingredients in uncooked sauces and salsa in a variety of cuisines. This multi-state, multi-disciplinary and multi-functional project proposes to investigate the food safety risks of raw fresh herbs and fresh produce items commonly used in uncooked/unprocessed sauces and salsa. The project will specifically aim to: 1) use focus group research to find out what fresh produce managers and specialty/ethnic restaurant owners/managers need to know about fresh herb ingredients (such as cilantro and hot peppers) that will be used in uncooked or unprocessed sauces or condiments; 2) find out how common pathogenic microorganisms (disease-causing germs) are in fresh ingredients such as peppers and cilantro purchased from different sources (for instance, farmers' markets, supermarkets, and produce stands); 3) determine the fates of selected enteric pathogens (gastrointestinal organisms that can cause diarrheal diseases) on produce items and fresh sauces containing the selected produce items; 4) develop educational programs and materials teaching fresh produce retailers, restaurant managers, and consumers how to handle produce safely; and 5) evaluate the effectiveness of these educational materials, including knowledge gained and behaviors and practices changed as a result of the project.
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APPROACH: Research objective 1. To assess food safety knowledge gaps and educational and training needs among fresh produce managers and restaurant owners/managers as related to fresh herb ingredients destined for fresh sauces or unprocessed flavoring condiments. To accomplish this research objective, four focus groups will be conducted among the aforementioned target audiences. Research objective 2. To determine the prevalence of microorganisms in raw fresh produce items or ingredients commonly used in various uncooked/unprocessed or minimally processed sauces and fresh condiments by microbial analyses. Examples include cilantro, green onions and fresh peppers (serranos and jalapenos) from different sources, including large supermarkets, farmers' markets, and produce stands. These items were selected because they have been implicated in previous foodborne illness outbreaks and because they are often used in uncooked sauces and condiments. Analyses of data: Both qualitative and quantitative data will be collected and analyzed. Qualitative data, including the appearance of the store, how the produce items in question were being stored or displayed, and the produce's point of origin, will be collected at the time of purchase or collection. Numeric data will be analyzed with PROC GLM and means will be compared using Duncan's multiple range test at 5% level of significance. Research objective 3. To determine the survival rates of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., poliovirus 1 (CHAT, enteric virus surrogate), MS2 bacteriophage (Hepatitis A surrogate) and murine calicivirus (norovirus surrogate) on raw produce such as cilantro and serranos, jalapenos, and other small hot peppers at various time and temperature intervals, as well as in experimental conditions representing typical conditions in some sauces (model system). Survival and proliferation of those pathogens or their surrogates on peppers and cilantro will be determined, comparing time and temperature combinations representing current practices to the current recommendations for these items. Extension objective 4. To develop safe handling practices of these produce items among fresh produce managers, specialty/ethnic restaurant owners/managers, and consumers, and to disseminate information to the aforementioned target audiences via various means of communication such as the state Cooperative Extension system, e-Extension, and networks of the state and federal food safety professionals and regulators. Evaluation objective 5. The evaluation objective is to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of the educational materials on the target audiences. This objective will be accomplished through workshop surveys and follow-up surveys tailored to each of the primary audiences, restaurant personnel and produce managers. The workshop surveys will be based on the educational objectives developed for each session and will be administered to workshop participants at the end of each session.